David Cameron denies 拢10m payment from Greensill Capital

Image source, PA Media

  • Author, Sam Francis
  • Role, Political reporter, 大象传媒 News

Lord Cameron has denied he was paid 拢10m by the collapsed financial firm Greensill Capital but has declined to disclose his earnings as its advisor.

The foreign secretary was repeatedly asked by the 大象传媒 how much he earned from the company at the centre of fraud investigations in two countries.

Documents uncovered by 大象传媒 Panorama in 2021 indicate the ex-PM earned 拢8.2 ($10m) promoting Greensill Capital.

Lord Cameron said he declared all his financial interests to the government.

After being asked on the Laura Kuenssberg on Sunday show if he had been paid 拢10m by Greensill Capital, Lord Cameron said: "No, that isn't true."

He said he was a "private citizen" at the time having resigned as prime minister. He has since stepped down from every outside job since returning to politics, he told the programme.

Since re-joining government as foreign secretary, Lord Cameron said he had "explained the companies" he had been working for to the House of Lords' Standards Commissioner.

It was up to the government to decide what financial information is made public, he added.

Greensill Capital, whose boss Lex Greensill was given an office in Downing Street under Mr Cameron's premiership, collapsed in March 2021.

Mr Greensill later hired Lord Cameron as an adviser. In this role he tried to persuade ministers to allow the firm to join a scheme called the Corporate Covid Financing Facility (CCFF).

This would have allowed the company to issue loans, insured by the government, to help firms through the pandemic.

Mr Cameron was unsuccessful in his attempts and Greensill Capital later collapsed with the loss of 440 jobs, and possible billion-pound losses for investors.

Criminal inquiries are ongoing in Germany and Switzerland. Mr Greensill has been named as a suspect in Switzerland.

The lobbying scandal which surrounded Lord Cameron's work for Greensill prompted a series of inquiries at Westminster.

Mr Greensill previously denied allegations from MPs on the Commons Treasury Committee in 2021 that his collapsed finance firm was a "fraud" or a "Ponzi scheme" and blamed the firm's collapse on the withdrawal of cover from its insurers.